Now, for you cocktail geeks out there, I am well aware that a Bramble is not something that one would serve “up”, but naming drinks is tough work, and I always attempt to give a drink a classification in its title if it is at all possible. As I feel the key feature of the bramble is blackberry, I’ve decided to use its moniker for this concoction, so back off!!! (you know who I’m talking to….)

As for the blackberry purée, if you can’t find any at your local market, you can easily make some by taking frozen (or fresh if you can get it) fruit and puréeing it in a blender. Taste the resulting mixture and decide if you need to add some sugar (personal taste) as fruit will change in acidity and sweetness with the season.

Another option, if fresh blackberries are available, would be to substitute the purée with eight blackberries and ¼ oz of simple syrup. Muddle your blackberries to break them down a bit, add the rest of the ingredients with ice and shake, shake, shake Señora , shake it all the time!

The blackberries, shiraz and bourbon make for one rich cocktail filled with lush flavor. If you aren’t using Fat Bastard shiraz, and if your blackberries are sweeter than mine were, remember that you can balance it out by adding a little bit more lemon juice (or even a dash of peach bitters if you have them).